Has someone filled out the new verfication questions for Bitstamp?

[BNO]

for Europe

They ask a lot of questions which might lead to restrictions to trading - like "you shouldn't trade so risky assets if you don't have enought wealth" (like in traditional bankin):
- annual income?
- net worth?
- Source of income?

That is a bit bothersome to be honest. Has someone filled this formout? What they ask on page 2?
I don't know if i want to start this, who knows to what this will lead to, if it goes awry account blocked?

Any experiences what are good numbers to type in, do you need to upload documents, do they call you?

Greetings!

[o_e_l_e_o]

Sorry, but why would your net worth be any of their business? My bank, my insurance provider, even the government don't know my net worth - why does a crypto exchange need to know? Just another exchange going over the top with ridiculous KYC requirements.

I would suggest finding a new platform on which to buy and sell crypto.

[gentlemand]

I've been signed up with stock trading companies for years who never asked for anything beyond address and ID. Why should a bunch of anonymous Slovenians get my entire tax history and Bitcoin addresses?

I'm signed up there. I'll never put another penny in there again because of bullshit like that.  

[BNO]

Sorry, but why would your net worth be any of their business? My bank, my insurance provider, even the government don't know my net worth - why does a crypto exchange need to know? Just another exchange going over the top with ridiculous KYC requirements.

I would suggest finding a new platform on which to buy and sell crypto.

I see it totally the same, but i want to use Bitstamp as my bridge from FIAT to Crypto and want to keep it for a while.
But you are totally right, more and more the crypto sphere adopts the stuff from old banking which is a bit scary (fear that answering the questions makes something worse).

Anybody knows how the process continues? Uploading documents?

[BNO]

..
I'm signed up there. I'll never put another penny in there again because of bullshit like that.  

Its easy to trade crypto againgst crypto. But for Europe the only legit exchange trading FIAT vs Crypto is Bitstamp. FIAT vs Crypto is a bit of a problem and has ever bin.. In the old days you needed to put up with Scammers like Mark and nowadays its not Scammer but more and more inquisitory questions...

[gentlemand]

I see it totally the same, but i want to use Bitstamp as my bridge from FIAT to Crypto and want to keep it for a while.

Why Bitstamp? Why not Kraken? More choice and a flawless security record.

I verified with Kraken in 2015 ish. Proof of address and ID was uploaded through their site. It was accepted a few hours later. They gave me clear limits. That was it and has been it ever since. I've run plenty of money through since without a squeak.

It's Bitstamp's mystery triggers and unacceptable demands for further intrusive information that turned me off them for good. Either you're verified or you're not. Don't dick around somewhere in the middle.

[BNO]

I see it totally the same, but i want to use Bitstamp as my bridge from FIAT to Crypto and want to keep it for a while.

Why Bitstamp? Why not Kraken? More choice and a flawless security record.

I verified with Kraken in 2015 ish. Proof of address and ID was uploaded through their site. It was accepted a few hours later. They gave me clear limits. That was it and has been it ever since. I've run plenty of money through since without a squeak.

Ah Kraken i never registered and forgot about them... Ja maybe i'll give them a go and try it out...

It's Bitstamp's mystery triggers and unacceptable demands for further intrusive information that turned me off them for good. Either you're verified or you're not. Don't dick around somewhere in the middle.

Ja totally annoying... Its like with Poloniex.. Every year the come up with something new...

[o_e_l_e_o]

Its easy to trade crypto againgst crypto. But for Europe the only legit exchange trading FIAT vs Crypto is Bitstamp.

Why not use Localbitcoins or Paxful? My understanding is they are pretty well established most countries, and if you are in Europe you can trade Euros cross border without much issue. I am a particularly paranoid person and have real issues with giving my KYC information or documents to any exchange, regardless of how well known or reputable they may be. The questions you've posted from Bitstamp take it even further than that.

I'd much rather trade peer to peer for cash, bank transfer, or similar, than answer these kinds of intrusive questions.

[LeGaulois]

All banks, Insurances, websites offering financial investments and alike ask these questions to everybody. In some countries (I think in the whole EU) it's even a law in, order to oblige companies to inform consumers of the risks of capital loss. I filled these questions so many times in different places, even on a crowdfunding platform.

[dothebeats]

Local exchanges started doing the same for them to know whether an individual trader's funds come from a clean source or not. Personally, I have opted out of the said KYC procedure and perhaps I would too on my Bitstamp account (which remained inactive for months now). What right do exchanges have to know such details anyway? If a trader has the capacity to trade, then let them be. They already know the details of the person. Just chase after the said person should something shady occur with that person's account, no need to learn all these unnecessary stuff.

[gentlemand]

All banks, Insurances, websites offering financial investments and alike ask these questions to everybody. In some countries (I think in the whole EU) it's even a law in, order to oblige companies to inform consumers of the risks of capital loss. I filled these questions so many times in different places, even on a crowdfunding platform.

I've never done it once in my entire life and I'm in the EU too. Perhaps it's a Euro thing. The last thing I opened was putting several thousand pounds into an investment vehicle. All they wanted was address and ID like all the other ones before it.

[squatter]

Bitstamp being overly nosy doesn't surprise me. They always took the cake for having the most invasive AML/KYC measures. I wouldn't put up with this kind of invasion of privacy. If you're in Europe, Kraken and Coinbase Pro are some other options that support SEPA funding.

Sorry, but why would your net worth be any of their business? My bank, my insurance provider, even the government don't know my net worth - why does a crypto exchange need to know? Just another exchange going over the top with ridiculous KYC requirements.

Net worth and annual income are pretty standard questions for verifying accredited investor status. When GDAX had margin trading, I remember using leverage was restricted to accredited investors. Doesn't really apply to Bitstamp, though...

[BitHodler]

What right do exchanges have to know such details anyway? If a trader has the capacity to trade, then let them be. They already know the details of the person. Just chase after the said person should something shady occur with that person's account, no need to learn all these unnecessary stuff.

I doubt it's Bitstamp itself coming up with this, but more so a requirement of their banking partners. I also think that this will be replicated by other exchanges in the coming few years.

Banks provide a service to exchanges, which technically means that they too are participating in money laundering and whatnot would criminals use them as a way to deposit or withdraw whatever fiat currency.

We just have to accept that the centralized ecosystem will become more firmly centralized and controlled as time goes by. It shouldn't come as a surprise to people. Crypto is money and easy to move.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I've been signed up with stock trading companies for years who never asked for anything beyond address and ID. Why should a bunch of anonymous Slovenians get my entire tax history and Bitcoin addresses?

I'm signed up there. I'll never put another penny in there again because of bullshit like that.  

Word.  Kraken now won't let me access my account without doing the KYC procedure.  Fortunately I only left some dust in my account the last time I used them--and I won't, ever again.

Never used Bitstamp, but I know they're one of the big players.  They probably want to know about your net worth and all of that in order to make recommendations or whatever--and I'm thinking and typing here, because some stock brokerages ask the same sorts of questions.  I just signed up with Robinhood, and I had to answer the same stuff.  That didn't bother me, and it would bother me even less with a crypto exchange, where you could pretty much tell them whatever you feel like telling them (unless they're being regulated by the government like Kraken and Coinbase).

I doubt it's Bitstamp itself coming up with this, but more so a requirement of their banking partners. I also think that this will be replicated by other exchanges in the coming few years.

Yep, you could be right about both of those things.  And I imagine everything is going to look very different come five years from now.

[figmentofmyass]

Kraken now won't let me access my account without doing the KYC procedure.  Fortunately I only left some dust in my account the last time I used them--and I won't, ever again.

seriously? damn, i was thinking about creating an account there because the lower verification tiers (crypto deposit/withdrawal only) dont require ID. which tier of verification were they demanding?

Never used Bitstamp, but I know they're one of the big players.  They probably want to know about your net worth and all of that in order to make recommendations or whatever--and I'm thinking and typing here, because some stock brokerages ask the same sorts of questions.  I just signed up with Robinhood, and I had to answer the same stuff.

that makes more sense with securities because some securities can only be sold to accredited investors under SEC rules. with cryptocurrencies i've never heard of anything like this.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Net worth and annual income are pretty standard questions for verifying accredited investor status.

True, but the whole point of becoming an accredited investor is to prove that you have a high net worth or income and are therefore allowed to spend large amounts on riskier investments. It doesn't apply to people who are trying to buy/sell/trade a few hundred or a few thousand dollars of bitcoin. I could maybe understand if they applied these rules to anyone trading >$100,000 say, but applying them to everyone is utter nonsense.

[squatter]

Net worth and annual income are pretty standard questions for verifying accredited investor status.

True, but the whole point of becoming an accredited investor is to prove that you have a high net worth or income and are therefore allowed to spend large amounts on riskier investments. It doesn't apply to people who are trying to buy/sell/trade a few hundred or a few thousand dollars of bitcoin. I could maybe understand if they applied these rules to anyone trading >$100,000 say, but applying them to everyone is utter nonsense.

It seems like Bitstamp's approach is to go above and beyond required regulations out of an abundance of caution, for fear of various allegations, especially money laundering. They seem to have really ramped up their KYC process since 2017, perhaps in response to the BTC-e shutdown -- they were taken down on money laundering conspiracy charges -- or maybe in response to all the SEC and CFTC attention on the industry.

They're not the only ones. Gemini is becoming notorious for closing customer accounts and being overly worried about legal compliance. They even explicitly prohibit mixers in their terms.

[dunfida]

What right do exchanges have to know such details anyway? If a trader has the capacity to trade, then let them be. They already know the details of the person. Just chase after the said person should something shady occur with that person's account, no need to learn all these unnecessary stuff.

I doubt it's Bitstamp itself coming up with this, but more so a requirement of their banking partners. I also think that this will be replicated by other exchanges in the coming few years.

Banks provide a service to exchanges, which technically means that they too are participating in money laundering and whatnot would criminals use them as a way to deposit or withdraw whatever fiat currency.

We just have to accept that the centralized ecosystem will become more firmly centralized and controlled as time goes by. It shouldn't come as a surprise to people. Crypto is money and easy to move.

We should expect for this thing to happen and sooner or later we would really come to that path.For now we are seeing gradual movement on how exchangers do tied up with these KYC integrations.

Filling out those annual,source of income,net worth is just a typical thing that you do wrote when you are dealing with banks but for exchangers to ask about it? You would really have that doubt.

[jerry0]

Anyone done verification for us and if so how long is the process?

[LeGaulois]

All banks, Insurances, websites offering financial investments and alike ask these questions to everybody. In some countries (I think in the whole EU) it's even a law in, order to oblige companies to inform consumers of the risks of capital loss. I filled these questions so many times in different places, even on a crowdfunding platform.

I've never done it once in my entire life and I'm in the EU too. Perhaps it's a Euro thing. The last thing I opened was putting several thousand pounds into an investment vehicle. All they wanted was address and ID like all the other ones before it.

Here the first ever question asked is: Are you American? They ask for your annual income, the total amount invested in different places. They even ask you how much you pay per month for your house. Isn't that crazy? What my apartment cost has to do with my interest to spend some money on an investment? For fun, I remember one asking me if I was famous, or know someone famous.